Wednesday, September 26, 2007

bad form.

The Blogosphere is all over Iranian President Mahmoud Acnefacejihad, who made some pretty outrageous statements during his speech at Columbia University.

I have mixed feelings on the issue.

Sure, the guy is nuttier than a shithouse rat. He's a Holocaust denier, he wants to see the Jews wiped off the map, his Army's Quds Force is actively supporting Iraqi insurgents and probably actively participating in killing American soldiers, and he's putting together nukes in his basement while thumbing his nose at the League of Nat...err, United Nations.

That said, I think it's rude and boorish of Columbia University to invite the guy and then insult him--no matter how deserved those insults are. If you think he's that abhorrent, don't invite him, and don't give him a pulpit. Once you invite someone into your house, the laws of hospitality dictate that you not only treat them well, but also protect them to the best of your ability. Inviting someone with the sole purpose of insulting and denigrating them is just plain bad form. Again, it doesn't matter how much he deserves it--if you want to tear a guy a new one, you don't pretend to invite him over for beer and brats just so you can do it in your house and with a sympathetic audience on your side.

There's no difference between Columbia inviting Karl Rove and throwing him to a hostile crowd of "Bush is teh Hitler" college kids, and doing the same to old Mahmoud.